Islamabad, Aug 12: Days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed willingness to consider devolution of powers to Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan Thursday said such measures would not help resolve the vexed issue and reiterated its support for “right to self-determination” for the Kashmiris.
“It is important to first acknowledge and summon the courage (to say) that the Jammu and Kashmir issue is there and it can’t be addressed unless it is properly diagnosed and a proper prescription is given,” Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said at his weekly news briefing.
His comments came in response to a question on Singh’s reported remarks that he was willing to consider autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir within the ambit of the Constitution.
This was the first reaction from Pakistan to Singh’s statement made during an all-party meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday.
“We all know that the problem in Jammu and Kashmir relates to their right to self-determination and unless and until India recognises that and moves ahead in that direction, we doubt very much that the people of Jammu and Kashmir will settle for anything less,” Basit said.
To another question on Congress MP and former Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor’s reported remarks about Pakistan exporting terror to Jammu and Kashmir and creating the perception of rights abuses in the state, he said the Kashmiris were engaged in a “legitimate indigenous struggle” to get their right to “self-determination.”
Describing Tharoor’s reported comments as “simplistic”, Basit said India should understand that the Kashmir problem is an issue that must be settled according to the wishes of the Kashmiris.
“This is a legitimate indigenous struggle which the people of Jammu and Kashmir are continuing with and we are confident that, sooner or later, they will be able to get their right to self-determination,” Basit said.
“I think the crux of the matter is that India needs to realise that Jammu and Kashmir is an issue, (it) is a problem which needs to be resolved and handled in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Kashmir.”

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